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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28454565">affectionate stocking</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/SavageNutella46/pseuds/SavageNutella46'>SavageNutella46</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Batman - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Brotherly Love, Gen, Pretend it’s still Christmas for me loves, gift shopping, secretsanta2k20, uh just cute I guess idk</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 23:01:16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,012</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28454565</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/SavageNutella46/pseuds/SavageNutella46</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Damian and Jason go gift shopping for one another.</p><p>Prompt: Gift Shopping</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jason Todd &amp; Damian Wayne</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>76</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Gift Exchange 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>affectionate stocking</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/PawsitivelyMiraculous/gifts">PawsitivelyMiraculous</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>^^ and that’s really all it is.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>Damian huffed at the itchy feeling the deep green scarf wrapped loosely around his sore neck gave. He had gotten less than two hours of sleep last night, the brunt of the moon's reign over Gotham keeping a steady gaze on him as he battled Killer Croc.</p><p> </p><p>He was currently standing elbow-deep in a random rack of clothes, knees slightly bent to hide his  gift for Jason. The man had expressed his passion—repeatedly— for everything literature and alcohol.</p><p> </p><p>Here he was, trying to hide himself—and the gift in his hands— from Jason's annoyingly peeking eyes. Damian shifted a little to elbow Jason in the gut, huffing in amusement when the older man grunted in both frustration and surprise.</p><p> </p><p>"C'mon, Brat, jus' show me!" Jason shoved his hands in the rack and rummaged around, attempting to grip Damian's hand with his iron fist and reveal the item in his hands.</p><p> </p><p>Damian grunted in response.</p><p> </p><p>"If you show me yours, I'll show you mine." Jason's voice cracked at the end as he laughed boisterously. Damian split the ghost of a smile in return, the seemingly Damian equivalent of wheezing laughter.</p><p> </p><p>"No, Todd. Get off of me." His tone must've conveyed his frustration, because Jason finally relented, removing his hands from the rack and sighing.</p><p> </p><p>"Fine, fine. Party Pooper." Jason stuck his tongue out as a jokingly taunting gesture, backing away to retreat to another side of the Goodwill store they were looking for presents in.</p><p> </p><p>He had accompanied his older brother after the man had begged him to accompany him gift shopping, for whatever reason.</p><p> </p><p>Really, Damian suspected it was because Jason finally wanted to get everyone meaningful gifts instead of rubber bullets. Damian wasn't complaining.</p><p> </p><p>Damian pulled his hands—and gift— out of the rack, and dusted them off on his pants. He had managed to dust off a few books on a wooden shelf, and, in the process, found a first edition  of Pride and Prejudice, adorned with full nineteenth century calf, gilt titles on the spine, and red and green Morocco labels on the spine. Damian was no expert in bookkeeping, but he was sure Jason would be fascinated by the vintage book.</p><p> </p><p>Damian quickly stepped up to the register, concealing the book under his elbow as to conceal Jason's sneaky eyes, who was not-so-secretly standing on his tippy-toes to see the item in Damian's arms.</p><p> </p><p>The cash register, a tired-looking girl with droopy eye bags and a bright pink streak in her hair, took the book and squinted at it for a moment, as if she could hardly believe her eyes.</p><p> </p><p>"Damn. How'd you find this?" She flips the book upside down before scanning the tag, the price of the book popping up on her small monitor screen.</p><p> </p><p>The cashier finished putting the book in a plastic bag and handed it over to him with a wary gaze. He took it, nodding in thanks, before turning back and walking over to Jason.</p><p> </p><p>"Are you finished?" He was leaning on the wall next to the door, studying Damian with a bored look.</p><p> </p><p>"Yes." Damian bobbed his head in the direction of the exit and exited the door. Jason followed silently, catching up in a few seconds and nudging Damian with his shoulder.</p><p> </p><p>"Uh," Jason started, looking around for any eaves-droppers or lingerers around them, "B called while you were finishing up. The lizard escaped again." Damian turned to look at Jason, the man wearing a pensive look on his face, a tiny furrow in his brow.</p><p> </p><p>They nodded and ran off in different directions to suit up.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Jason breathed a sigh of relief as Damian ran off to suit up. Bruce hadn't alerted them of another Killer Croc escape, he just wanted to find a good gift for his little brother without peeking eyes, something he could attest to failing in attempt to shield his own eyes from Damian's gift to him.</p><p> </p><p>So, the mind was made. Jason jogged to the nearest arts and crafts store, slowing down once the rustic smell of paints and glue washed over his senses, like a quaint, quiet waterfall.</p><p> </p><p>He had never wondered the reason for his little brother's interest in the arts, having seen the talent he so often poured on a blank canvas, but he had often imagined his life if he had the ever-so passion and integrity to paint his own ardours.</p><p> </p><p>Jason idly wandered the aisles, browsing upon the different kinds and brands of paint, until he settled on one only Damian wouldn't scoff or preen at in his haste to prove superiority upon such an ordinary paint (like acrylic).</p><p> </p><p>Oil. It adorned the shelf in rows and columns, different colors and shades sitting next to one another until it made his brain dizzy, staring at such a colorful selection.</p><p> </p><p>Damian was going to have a field day with this.</p><p> </p><p>He picked an oil primer and small tool to paint with and turned back to the paints.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The cash register—a small teenage boy smiling awkwardly at him, smile a little toothy so that Jason could see his braces—choked at the number of paint tubes Jason dumped on the counter.</p><p> </p><p>"Will this be all?" The boy—Carl, his name tag said—croaked out, a raspy undertone to his voice from choking on his own spit.</p><p> </p><p>Jason nodded. "Yep."</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>It was only till after Jason stepped out of the craft store did he see Damian's angry eyes, hair ruffled messily and clothes strewn on awkwardly, did he remember what exactly he said.</p><p> </p><p>"Oh, yeah." Jason chuckled, "I lied."</p><p> </p><p>Damian huffed and opened his mouth, but once he realized what store Jason had come out of, he closed his mouth with a quiet, "tt,"</p><p> </p><p>They walked back to the car in comfortable silence, watching the snow safely fall to the ground and join the other hoards of snow that had fell in their wake, beautifully mingling with one another.</p><p> </p><p>“Better not have gotten me acrylic.” Jason snickered at that, slapping Damian softly on the back.</p><p> </p><p>“Of course not, baby bat.”</p>
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